PBA Among the 'Best in the Southeast'

Date:August 6, 2013

The Princeton Review, an education services company widely known for it test prep programs and college and graduate school guides, named Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA) among the 138 institutions in its "Best in the Southeast" section of its website feature, "2014 Best Colleges: Region by Region," that posted today on the Company's website.

“Palm Beach Atlantic’s inclusion on the list of best colleges in the Southeast for the past six years is a testament to the outstanding faculty and engaged staff who make this a special community of learners and world changers,” President William M.B. Fleming, Jr. said. “Adding to that our destination location, PBA stands out among the fine colleges and universities in the region.”

The 138 colleges The Princeton Review chose for its "Best in the Southeast" designations are located in 12 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The Princeton Review also designated 226 colleges in the Northeast, 124 in the West and 155 in the Midwest as best in their locales on the company’s "2014 Best Colleges: Region by Region" lists. Collectively, the 643 colleges named "regional best(s)" constitute about 25 percent of the nation's 2,500 four-year colleges.

Says Robert Franek, Princeton Review's senior V.P./publisher, "We're pleased to recommend these colleges to users of our site as the best schools to earn their undergrad degrees. We chose these as our 'regional best' colleges mainly for their excellent academic programs. From several hundred schools in each region, we winnowed our list based on institutional data we collected directly from the schools, our visits to schools over the years, and the opinions of our staff, plus college counselors and advisors whose recommendations we invite. We also take into account what students at the schools reported to us. Only schools that permit us to independently survey their students are eligible to be considered for our regional 'best' lists."

For this project, The Princeton Review asks students attending the schools to rate their own schools on several issues — from the accessibility of their professors to quality of the campus food — and answer questions about themselves, their fellow students and their campus life. Comments from surveyed students are quoted in the school profiles on The Princeton Review site. The profiles also have a "Survey Says" list that reveals topics about which students surveyed at the school were in highest agreement.

Students rating Palm Beach Atlantic commented on class sizes that "are small enough to develop a friendship with professors," educators who "are personable and actually care about your learning; they want you to succeed.” They noted the camaraderie among fellow students. “If one is struggling in academics, social, or spiritual, then friends will lovingly intercede and assist in every way. The ties at Palm Beach Atlantic can be close ones.”

The schools in The Princeton Review’s "2014 Best Colleges: Region by Region" website section are also rated in six categories by The Princeton Review. The ratings, which appear on the school profiles, are scores on a scale of 60 to 99. The Princeton Review tallied these scores based on institutional data it obtained from the colleges in 2012-13 and/or student survey data. The rating score categories include: Academics, Admissions Selectivity, Financial Aid, Fire Safety, Quality of Life and Green. The Princeton Review explains the criteria for each rating score on its site

The Princeton Review does not rank the 643 colleges in its "2014 Best Colleges: Region by Region" list hierarchically or by region or in various categories. However, some schools in this list that also appear in The Princeton Review book, "The Best 378 Colleges: 2014 Edition," may appear on some of the Princeton Review ranking lists of "top 20 colleges" in 62 categories that are unique to that book. They are based entirely on the Company's surveys of students at the 378 schools in the book.

About The Princeton Review

Founded in 1981, The Princeton Review (www.princetonreview.com) is a privately held education services company headquartered in Framingham, Mass. The Company has long been a leader in helping students achieve their education and career goals through its test preparation services, tutoring and admissions resources, online courses, and more than 150 print and digital books published by Random House, Inc. The Princeton Review delivers its programs via a network of more than 5,000 teachers and tutors in the U.S.A., Canada, and international franchises. The Company also partners with schools and guidance counselors worldwide to provide students with college readiness, test preparation and career planning services.